Frankfurt preview: New 2010 Saab 9-5 _ With Video

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitR39gBjq9jnBvgVI6lkcxTUKOTEOxnwv_-qu8l3oEx3R3h3ECD7WpmFBgDHQ8gaMJhGnAreEPSKEg6lwZ2u5z22r9F8_Iix04p4XnfrA-YdMSyzus2kZ4ppRrM6HoMHIEuTullbzJDEI/s1600-h/2010_saab_9_5_press_011.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381235868459207666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitR39gBjq9jnBvgVI6lkcxTUKOTEOxnwv_-qu8l3oEx3R3h3ECD7WpmFBgDHQ8gaMJhGnAreEPSKEg6lwZ2u5z22r9F8_Iix04p4XnfrA-YdMSyzus2kZ4ppRrM6HoMHIEuTullbzJDEI/s400/2010_saab_9_5_press_011.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 240px;" /></a><br />Saab is already working on a hybrid version of the new 9-5 sedan. The hybrid version will use a small petrol engine backed up by an electric motor in an effort to increase fuel-economy and cut emissions.<br /><span class="fullpost"> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixPtzeQC7o1v7PTqtxdk6CFXhXgfxDaFrbsJd1c3t46d28LrijzLHHBRisMjJNx9nudW_Mm5DzlbAXBRF_ROKfImw2wFCJBDbhttzqjVoXRp9dypZWZ1-dSOg7wWf3DQ9ijJ45FQ8I0xU/s1600-h/2010_saab_9_5_press_012.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381235608933878306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixPtzeQC7o1v7PTqtxdk6CFXhXgfxDaFrbsJd1c3t46d28LrijzLHHBRisMjJNx9nudW_Mm5DzlbAXBRF_ROKfImw2wFCJBDbhttzqjVoXRp9dypZWZ1-dSOg7wWf3DQ9ijJ45FQ8I0xU/s400/2010_saab_9_5_press_012.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 240px;" /></a><br />Saab is working on a new 120-hp turbocharged 1.4L gasoline engine that will be assisted during periods of acceleration by an electric motor fitted in between it and the transmission. AutoCar says that the electric motor will offer high levels of torque and will come on when the driver is accelerating.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUO_VJDArfumHKna8eWhVoIMgyfgfz_iHtvfMMVxQYWAFNKfCDaBaG_o5WajIgvdG88iE5dehvW_Zc6JL1RtKUTChHKNRcLoZ8bei-qJIJUVFsDv_uxrO7VLOIRdQ9SrnXCuoIdsdGvQI/s1600-h/2010_saab_9_5_press_007.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381235404325316402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUO_VJDArfumHKna8eWhVoIMgyfgfz_iHtvfMMVxQYWAFNKfCDaBaG_o5WajIgvdG88iE5dehvW_Zc6JL1RtKUTChHKNRcLoZ8bei-qJIJUVFsDv_uxrO7VLOIRdQ9SrnXCuoIdsdGvQI/s400/2010_saab_9_5_press_007.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 199px;" /></a><br />The big advantage of an electric motor is that it offers high levels of torque from idle. In the Saab the electric motor will come on stream when the driver is pulling away or accelerating.<br /><br /><center><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" height="280" width="400"><param name="_cx" value="12700"><param name="_cy" value="9525"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649"><param name="Src" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649"><param name="WMode" value="Window"><param name="Play" value="0"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value="LT"><param name="Menu" value="0"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value=""><param name="Scale" value="NoScale"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fegmcartech%2Fsets%2F72157622158750444%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fegmcartech%2Fsets%2F72157622158750444%2F&set_id=72157622158750444&jump_to=" height="280" width="400"></embed></object></center><br />The new 2010 Saab 9-5 will make its world debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show next week. It will go on sale in early 2010. Pricing and availability details will be announced closer to launch date.<br />via:<a href="http://www.egmcartech.com/2009/09/10/2010-saab-9-5-hybrid-version-in-the-works/">egmcartech</a><br /><br /></span><p>

Frankfurt preview: New 2010 Saab 9-5 _ With Video

Saab is already working on a hybrid version of the new 9-5 sedan. The hybrid version will use a small petrol engine backed up by an electric...

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Pininfarina family stake to be sold - Tata potential suitor

<center><img alt="Pininfarina Blue Car EV production version" height="268" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/3/large/pininfarina-blue-car-ev-production-version.jpg" width="400" /></center><br />Pincar, the company owned by the Pininfarina family may sell its majority stake in troubled design house and coachbuilder Pininfarina. Through Pincar the family holds a majority stake of 50.7%. Selling the piece is a decision taken at a board meeting last week and was part of a debt agreement made with the banks in 2008. The end result would be that Pincar would no longer be the majority owner but at the same time the family would not leave the business completely.<br /><span class="fullpost"> <br /><center><img alt="Pininfarina Blue Car EV production version" height="268" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/3/large/pininfarina-blue-car-ev-production-version_1.jpg" width="400" /></center><br />A number of well-known industry names have been touted as possible new partners. One of them is Tata which owns the Tata Motors, Jaguar and Land Rover brands. The Indian company has an existing alliance with Fiat and was mentioned as an investor last year. Being closely related to Pininfarina, a company that has designed some of the most striking Ferraris and Maseratis in the past would certainly give Tata a boost in its design department.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Pininfarina Blue Car EV production version" height="267" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/3/large/pininfarina-blue-car-ev-production-version_2.jpg" width="400" /></center><br />Another possible partner is said to be Bolloré, the French industrial company. Pininfarina is working with them to develop an electric car dubbed, Bluecar. In 2008 founder Vincent Bolloré expressed an interest in becoming one of the shareholders at Pininfarina.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Pininfarina Blue Car EV production version" height="268" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/3/large/pininfarina-blue-car-ev-production-version_3.jpg" width="400" /></center><br />Could Ford also be in the mix? The Italian brand builds the Focus Coupe Cabriolet for the blue oval while another agreement sees it producing the Volvo C70 at a plant in Uddevalla, Sweden.<br /><a href="http://www.worldcarfans.com/109081020974/mini6/pininfarina-family-stake-to-be-sold--tata-potential-suitor">More Photos</a><br /><br /></span><p>

Pininfarina family stake to be sold - Tata potential suitor

Pincar, the company owned by the Pininfarina family may sell its majority stake in troubled design house and coachbuilder Pininfarina. Throu...

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Mercedes Innovation: The Crumple Zone in 1952

<center><img alt="1959 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE: first crumple zone production car in the world" height="294" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/7/large/9719957.jpg" width="400" /> </center><br />It was an inventor Bela Barenyi who pioneered the idea that passengers were safer in a vehicle that was designed to easily absorb the energy from an impact and keep that energy away from the people inside the cabin.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><center><img alt="Mercedes-Benz 220 SE crumple zones" height="188" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/7/large/6701162.jpg" width="400" /> </center><br />It may be the Volvo name which is most associated with automotive safety in the consumer's mind, but it was, in fact, Mercedes-Benz which first developed the most basic tenet of passenger car safety - the so-called Crumple Zone.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Mercedes-Benz safety engineering genius Bela Barenyi" height="613" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/7/large/7318241.jpg" width="400" /> </center><br />Barenyi devised a system of placing the car's components in a certain configuration that kept the kinetic energy in the event of a crash away from a bubble protecting the car's occupants. Mercedes obtained a patent from Barenyi's invention way back in 1952 and the technology was first introduced into production cars in 1959 in the Mercedes-Benz 220, 220 S and 220 SE models.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Mercedes-Benz " height="532" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/7/large/6807918.jpg" width="400" /> </center><br />For example, Barenyi arranged the steering column and other heavy components so that they would not form blocks that would heighten the impact on the cabin. The system was designed to have the car's body crumple around the cabin, absorbing the worst of the kinetic shock of impact.<br /><br /><center><img alt="First sketches of the patented crumple zone" height="579" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/7/large/7119402.jpg" width="400" /> </center><br />The inventor/engineer Barenyi is credited with about 2,500 patents, more than half as many as the more famous inventor, Thomas Edison.<br />via:<a href="http://www.worldcarfans.com/109071020379/mercedes-innovation-the-crumple-zone-in-1952">worldcarfans</a><br /><center><img alt="Patent for the crumple zone: Patent No. DBP 854 157" height="679" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/7/large/3093660.jpg" width="400" /> </center><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Press Release</span><br /><br /><p style="font-style: italic;">Patent No. DBP 854 157: The "Crumple Zone", Life-Saver of Thousands</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">* Mercedes-Benz engineering mastermind: Bela Barenyi and the invention of the crumple zone<br />* Rigid passenger cell, interior designed to reduce injury hazards in an accident: Mercedes-Benz 220, 220 S, 220 SE model year 1959<br />* "Terracruiser": Bela Barenyi's contribution to the company and other milestones</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">Stuttgart - Almost 60 years ago Mercedes-Benz presented what would become a common life-saving fixture on cars: the crumple zone.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">On 23 January 1951, Daimler-Benz AG applied for patent number DBP 854 157, using the unadorned description of "Motor vehicles especially for the transportation of people". Concealed behind this was the invention of the deformable areas at the front and rear of a car that is still today generally referred to as "the crumple zone".</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">In the decades that followed, this patent revolutionised the entire automotive industry and became the decisive factor in "passive safety".</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">In more recent times, it has even been applied in railway locomotive and carriage design.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">The ingenious mastermind of the idea was Bela Barenyi for whom the maxim of the time - "a safe car must not yield but be stable" - was completely inappropriate.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">He was the first to discover that in a collision, kinetic energy must be absorbed through deformation in order for the occupants to be protected. He logically split the car body into three "boxes": a soft front section, a rigid passenger cell and a soft rear section.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">The patent was granted on August 28, 1952.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">Rigid passenger cell and interior designed to reduce injury hazards in an accident</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">On a global scale, Barenyi's safety bodywork made its debut in production cars in the first six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz 220, 220 S and 220 SE models of 1959, their most striking feature being distinctive tail fins.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">Developments under the engine hood were equally revolutionary: the steering gear moved far to the rear and the auxiliary units were arranged in such a way so as not to form blocks with each other in the event of a collision, but rather to slip past one another, permitting more effective crumpling of the bodywork.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">Inside this Mercedes, the most significant improvement was only to be detected after giving it a second look: for the first time ever, the interior was completely redesigned in order to reduce the injury hazard in an accident. Hard or sharp-edged controls were replaced by yielding, rounded or recessed units, combined with recessed door handles, a dashboard which yielded on impact, padded window ledges, window winders, armrests and sun visors and a steering wheel that featured a large padded boss. Under heavy impact, the rear-view mirror was released from its bracket.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">In 1961, anchorage points for seat belts were fitted as standard in the "tail fin". Lap belts were available from 1957, and the first diagonal shoulder belts appeared in 1962. Round-shoulder tyres also made their debut on this car.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">"Terracruiser": Bela Barenyi's contribution to the company and other milestones</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">In October 1948, engineer and inventor Bela Barenyi signed his new employment contract with Daimler-Benz AG, where he had worked previously between 1939 and 1946. He contributed his concept for a "car of the future for the two-to-three litre class", the "Terracruiser" as he called it, which had been in development for several years.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">Striking at first glance on this design was the car's body, which was split into three sections, giving it a front end, a passenger compartment and a tail. The two outer sections were strictly separated by the passenger cell which itself was flexibly mounted in a "cradle position". This mounting was to absorb vibrations as well as offer protection in the event of a collision.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">One other thing: to protect the driver as effectively as possible in a lateral crash, the driver's seat, including all instruments and controls, was arranged centrally in a complex "bridge".</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">The Terracruiser was designed as a three-box body with outstanding aerodynamic efficiency.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">Barenyi developed a huge range of trailblazing safety elements alongside the Terracruiser. These include such essentials as the safety steering column, the steering wheel impact absorber, the "disappearing windscreen wiper" and, highly important for interior safety, the protective side moulding.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">His modular design principle, which he developed so early on, has become relevant only recently.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">By the end of his professional career, the restless Bela Barenyi was able to call 2,500 patents his own. To grasp the scale of his relentless pioneering work, famous US inventor, Thomas Edison, has just over half as many.</p><br /><br /></span><p>

Mercedes Innovation: The Crumple Zone in 1952

It was an inventor Bela Barenyi who pioneered the idea that passengers were safer in a vehicle that was designed to easily absorb the energ...

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Another round of dealer cuts imminent at GM

<center><img height="208" id="article-img" src="http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/s/u/sunset_bpg_dealer_main_630-0521-630x360.jpg" title="GM dealership" width="400" /></center><br />Just a couple of weeks ago General Motors revealed that it would be cutting ties with over 1,100 dealerships, and the bad news keeps coming for dealers as the struggling automaker is expected to cut a further 450 dealerships in the coming months.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />Many dealerships are under franchise agreements with GM that are expected to finish late next year - at which point around 450 dealers will most likely not have their contracts renewed. The dealerships facing the axe from GM have been chosen because they "have very specific issues", the automaker’s sales chief Mark LaNeve revealed to Automotive News. These issues include the fact that certain dealerships may have been exclusively stocking the now-defunct Pontiac brand, or be underperforming in regards to sales targets.<br /><a href="http://www.motorauthority.com/another-round-of-dealer-cuts-imminent-at-gm.html">more detail</a>. ...<br /><br /></span>

Another round of dealer cuts imminent at GM

Just a couple of weeks ago General Motors revealed that it would be cutting ties with over 1,100 dealerships, and the bad news keeps coming ...

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Devon Motor Works is only serious bidder for Viper business

<center><img alt="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 1 of 10" class="MainImage" id="gallery-main-image" src="http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/d/e/devon_motor_works_gtx_001-0528-950x650.jpg" title="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 1 of 10" /> </center><br />Chrysler confirmed in March that it had received three offers for its Dodge Viper sports car business, and that it was currently doing due diligence ahead of making a final decision, but documents unearthed in the company's bankruptcy filing reveal that no 'serious offers' were ever really tendered. Even at a bargain-basement price of $10 million for the 392,000 square foot Viper plant, there were no takers.<br /><span class="fullpost"> <br /><center><img alt="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 2 of 10" class="MainImage" id="gallery-main-image0" src="http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/d/e/devon_motor_works_gtx_002-0528-950x650.jpg" title="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 2 of 10" /> </center><br />"We received no purchaser interest," said CEO Bob Nardelli. "The market for such assets is extremely depressed at this time." The best offer was a $5.5 million low-ball from Devon Motor Works (DMW), which sought to purchase the entire Viper brand, lease the Conner Avenue Viper plant for a year and take on none of the brand's debts or liabilities.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 3 of 10" class="MainImage" id="gallery-main-image1" src="http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/d/e/devon_motor_works_gtx_003-0528-950x650.jpg" title="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 3 of 10" /> </center><br />The ailing Detroit carmaker did not reveal who made the supposed offers at the time, nor the likely time that a decision would be made, but Chrysler vice-president Jim Press said any sale would be delayed by the then-ongoing viability plan submission to the U.S. Congress. Since then, no further headway has been made on the sale, according to Chrysler's court documents, reports Automotive News.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 6 of 10" class="MainImage" id="gallery-main-image2" src="http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/d/e/devon_motor_works_gtx_006-0528-950x650.jpg" title="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 6 of 10" /> </center><br />Previously, Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli confirmed that the sale had gathered interest from both international and North American parties but wasn’t willing to reveal any names. Some of the firms that were rumored to be interested in the sale included specialty performance shops Saleen and Roush, which would have had the capacity to accommodate the Viper’s handmade production process.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 7 of 10" class="MainImage" id="gallery-main-image3" src="http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/d/e/devon_motor_works_gtx_007-0528-950x650.jpg" title="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 7 of 10" /> </center><br />Other details unearthed in Chrysler's bankruptcy documents indicate the Viper brand could disappear altogether within a year. The planned sale of Viper will likely not happen at all, especially with the lack of interest and any ability to get a fair price for it.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 8 of 10" class="MainImage" id="gallery-main-image4" src="http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/d/e/devon_motor_works_gtx_008-0528-950x650.jpg" title="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 8 of 10" /> </center><br />DMW’s plan was to use the facility to start production of its own GTX sports car, most likely based around the Dodge Viper platform. The company still plans to produce the car, which is previewed in these official renderings, and will eventually attempt to break the Nurburgring’s production car lap record before unveiling it at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours in August.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 4 of 10" class="MainImage" id="gallery-main-image5" src="http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/d/e/devon_motor_works_gtx_004-0528-950x650.jpg" title="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 4 of 10" /> </center><br />Nardelli has previously stated that Chrysler will act in the best interests of the Viper's supporters and fans, who understandably would want to see the brand spared from being axed altogether. But at the same time, Chrysler will do what it must to get out of bankruptcy and back into operation.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 5 of 10" class="MainImage" id="gallery-main-image6" src="http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/d/e/devon_motor_works_gtx_005-0528-950x650.jpg" title="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 5 of 10" /> </center><br />The brand's sale, or death, would mark the end of a 17-year run of the Viper at Chrysler, with the first model having debuted in the 1992 model year. The company just produced its 25,000th Viper in March of this year, and celebrated the event with festivities that included the launch of the track-focused Viper SRT10 ACR.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 9 of 10" class="MainImage" id="gallery-main-image7" src="http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/d/e/devon_motor_works_gtx_009-0528-950x650.jpg" title="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 9 of 10" /> </center><br />Some of the assets of the current Chrysler operation could be 'left behind' in the portion of the company that is to be effectively eliminated - i.e. not brought forward into the 'new' Chrysler-Fiat pairing. Viper could be one of those assets, left behind and liquidated with all the rest of the dross.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 10 of 10" class="MainImage" id="gallery-main-image8" src="http://www.motorauthority.com/content/thumbs/d/e/devon_motor_works_gtx_010-0528-950x650.jpg" title="Devon Motor Works GTX official renderings 10 of 10" /> </center><br />via:<a href="http://www.motorauthority.com/chrysler-exploring-sale-of-dodge-viper-to-third-party.html">motorauthority</a><br /><br /></span>

Devon Motor Works is only serious bidder for Viper business

Chrysler confirmed in March that it had received three offers for its Dodge Viper sports car business, and that it was currently doing due ...

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Greek court rules against Daimler on China SUV

<center><img alt="Shuanghuan Noble" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/5/large/3034962.jpg" /> </center><br />There's an old saying that "justice is blind," an adage which has taken a literal meaning thanks to a Greek court's decision to dismiss Daimler's lawsuit against a Chinese copy of the Smart fortwo.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><center><img alt="Shuanghuan Noble" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/5/large/5752306.jpg" /> </center><br />Although the case looked promising for Daimler early on, a Milan court ruling in mid-December 2008 in favor of Shuanghuan in the BMW case seemed to have put the nail in Daimler's coffin. The court found that visual and price differences between BMW's X5 and Shuanghuan CEO were enough to prevent consumers from confusing the two. After winning the case against BMW, Shuanghuan resumed the sale of its CEO SUV in Italy.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Shuanghuan Noble" height="494" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2009/5/large/6409131.jpg" width="400" /> </center><br />The Greek court determined that "an informed buyer would not confuse the Noble with the Smart Fortwo." They also stated that because the two vehicles offer different technical specifications, any exterior styling similarities are irrelevant and almost inevitable because they're both mini-cars.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Shuanghuan Noble" height="268" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2008/2/large/9080214.023.Mini1L2.jpg" width="400" /> </center><br />Chinese auto makers reportedly have 'borrowed' inspiration from BMW's X5, Daewoo's Matiz and the Mercedes-Benz SLK. Various legal challenges have been mounted, some successfully and others less so.<br /><br /><center><img alt="Shuanghuan Noble" height="234" src="http://img.worldcarfans.com/2008/2/large/9080214.023.Mini2L2.jpg" width="400" /> </center><br />Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd. started to sell Smart Fortwo, the classic low-emission car under Daimler's Mercedes-Benz brand, in China on April 8 this year.<br />Source: <a href="http://autonews.gasgoo.com/auto-news/1010649/Greek-court-rules-against-Daimler-on-Noble-SUV.html">gasgoo</a> via World Car Fans<a href="http://autonews.gasgoo.com/auto-news/1010649/Greek-court-rules-against-Daimler-on-Noble-SUV.html"><br /></a><br /><br /></span>

Greek court rules against Daimler on China SUV

There's an old saying that "justice is blind," an adage which has taken a literal meaning thanks to a Greek court's decis...

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Porsche GT2 Champ Of BeaveRun; GT-R Poised For Overall One Lap Win

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAorwl42d-VNOc2BUOylGpfaKQc0BDXpfgxY5cFt6OwYAy9XifYOQKDfHDwavW1BANROxvI1RgTVHIhziYB2Ty_Ejyj46PfmRvfwOjc977z4MWIbK2u4_y4cZtL_xlrvsgQ8BrxHTf7mWx/s1600-h/porsche-gt2-front-three-quarter.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334062082583323266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAorwl42d-VNOc2BUOylGpfaKQc0BDXpfgxY5cFt6OwYAy9XifYOQKDfHDwavW1BANROxvI1RgTVHIhziYB2Ty_Ejyj46PfmRvfwOjc977z4MWIbK2u4_y4cZtL_xlrvsgQ8BrxHTf7mWx/s400/porsche-gt2-front-three-quarter.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" /></a><br />Ian Stewart and Peter Lier's Porsche GT2 performed masterfully today at BeaveRun Motorsports Park. With Stewart behind the wheel, the GT2 stormed to first place in both events around the 12-turn track, setting a 3:08.4 cumulative lap time in the morning and afternoon.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />Still, the Cannonball GT-R -- which placed second in both events -- leads the GT2 by 100 points overall. With one event and 24 hours remaining in this year's competition, the Nissan looks as though it will clinch the overall win barring a catastrophic mechanical failure.<br /><a href="http://wot.motortrend.com/6540779/one-lap-of-america/porsche-gt2-champ-of-beaverun-gt-r-poised-for-overall-one-lap-win/index.html">Read More</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Other article:<br /></span><a href="http://benzs.blogspot.com/2009/04/spy-photos-porsche-aerokit-cup-for-997.html">Spy Photos: Porsche Aerokit Cup for 997 Facelift</a><br /><a href="http://benzs.blogspot.com/2009/03/video-th2-volkswagen-t5-558-pk.html">Video : TH2 Volkswagen T5: 558 pk</a><br /><a href="http://benzs.blogspot.com/2009/03/most-successful-porsche-race-cars.html">Most Successful Porsche Race Cars Reunite at 12 Hours of Sebring</a><br /><a href="http://benzs.blogspot.com/2009/02/geneva-previewtechart-magnum-based-on.html">Geneva preview：TechArt Magnum based on Cayenne Turbo</a><br /><br /><br /></span>

Porsche GT2 Champ Of BeaveRun; GT-R Poised For Overall One Lap Win

Ian Stewart and Peter Lier's Porsche GT2 performed masterfully today at BeaveRun Motorsports Park. With Stewart behind the wheel, the GT...

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